Pictured above: (l-r) Leigh Dyson, Alan Hardy and Simon Robinson

The Nottinghamshire Leisure Group Ltd has bought Cotgrave Place Golf Club, near Nottingham, from Crown Golf. The club will be rebranded as The Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club from 1st September 2010.

The new owners comprise a group of Nottinghamshire businessmen, Alan Hardy (Managing Director of Paragon Interiors Group Plc), Simon Robinson (owner of Joshua Tree Day Spa) and Leigh Dyson (Chairman of Sherwood Forest Golf Club)

Alan Hardy said: "Cotgrave Place Golf Club has an excellent reputation and we are delighted to be acquiring such a fantastic facility. It has 36-holes set in over 240 acres and includes a recently remodelled, 9-bay, floodlit driving range.  

"This is a highly profitable business with a proven trading record, almost 1,000 members and has good green fee, golf society and function revenue streams. We appreciate the strong position that the club is in as we acquire it and would like to thank Crown Golf for that. 

"All 3 of us are huge golf enthusiasts and I would also like to reassure current and future members that we will be working hard to maintain and exceed the standards set to date and we will be publicly announcing some exciting new developments in the coming months."

Already confirmed additions to the club include a re-modelled and refurbished bar and restaurant, upgraded conference and banqueting facilities and the very latest custom-fit equipment centre.

Crown Golf has traded the property since January 2005 following its acquisition as part of the American Golf (AGUK) acquisition.  The club was originally founded in 1991 and boasts The Open and Masters Golf Courses. In 1997 The Masters was extended from 9 to 18 holes with a design from Peter Allis and in 2006 received some additional remodelling work to enhance its reputation.   

Cotgrave Place was placed on the market in June 2010 by the company, with Humberts Leisure managing the sale. Stephen Lewis, CEO of Crown Golf comments on the sale: 

"Following a phase of acquisition in 2004-2007, we have entered into a period of consolidation, focussing on the clubs which the business wishes to retain for the long term - either for operational reasons, or as a result of their development potential.

"We expect there to be minimal impact for Cotgrave staff and club members during this process, and we are delighted to hand the club over to new owners while it is in such good health."